This week marks the first Super Week for LCO 2022, and also marks the start of Snowball’s predictions for the year. What a game to kick it off with, a mid-table clash no one really expected between Mammoth and ORDER that will shape the playoffs race.
By Monday’s close, the LCO ladder will start to stack up for Split 1 2022. Each team will have played each other once, which will give us a good gauge of each team’s strengths and weaknesses and who are the contenders and the pretenders in this league.
While most teams have performed to their expectations, some have missed what was expected of them before this split began (Kanga, most glaringly).
Week 4 will kick off with the aforementioned underperforming squad looking to get back into the winner’s circle after a dejecting fortnight. They will not be having it easy, however, as they will start their first Super Week tilt against the high-flying undefeated PEACE, who so far have looked invincible.
The Chiefs will be looking to continue to keep up the pace in the battle for first when they come up against a Dire Wolves team looking for some consistency in their fight for the playoffs. Day 1 will wrap up with the ever-changing Gravitas coming up against Pentanet, the super team who are not fulfilling to match the mega expectations put on the team in the off-season (but are being saved from most criticism by Kanga).
The big game of the day, however, goes to the third listing on the card as the league’s surprise package Mammoth take on ORDER.
Taylor’s Pick of the Week: Mammoth (3-3) v ORDER (3-3)
Look, I’m going to be honest, coming into this year I didn’t expect Mammoth to be much more than a team making up the numbers in the LCO, getting the occasional win but not much more.
They have blown my expectations away, finding themselves in a three-way tie for third. They have wins in three of their last four games, including the upset of the split against Pentanet.
While the team was a group of relative unknowns before the season started, all five members of the team have proved they can hang in this league. If anything, they are the epitome of being more than the sum of their parts. The team is a well-oiled machine, each individual playing their part perfectly.
- Read More: LCO 2022 Split 1 Sliding Doors Week 4
Solo laners Thomas “Tronthepom” Garnsworthy and Reuben “Reufury” Best have been the two shining stars for me on this team. Tronthepom is a solid rock up in the toplane – something those who watched him on QUT in his Intervarsity days would know – while Reufury has been the consistent mid laner every team wants, being able to carry when needed.
There’ve been some macro problems, sure, but they can hold up on a micro level. In OCE, that’s a good base to build off.
ORDER have been playing to the preseason expectations. They’ve been solid and competitive in almost every contest so far, with the only expectation being their blowout loss to PEACE in Week 2.
This is what should be expected of a team full of established talents, which includes both 2021 Split MVPs in top laner Brandon “BioPanther” Alexander and jungler Shane “Kevy” Allen. All five members of this team know what is needed to survive and thrive in this league, and all are capable of putting a team on their back to win them the game.
At this pace the team will be a playoff contender, but they still need to make it there – preferably at a higher seed than just fourth or fifth. With how tight the league currently is, every single game counts.
Arguments could very easily be made either way to who will win this. I am leaning towards ORDER – they are more consistent, and more proven. But this has been where teams have fallen short against Mammoth this year. This could very easily be wrong, but you can’t underestimate how much consistency could be the deciding factor in a game like this.
One other factor in this decision is something that I hope isn’t true: there is every chance that Mammoth’s current run is a flash in the pan and they regress back to what was expected of them. We have seen time and time again throughout the years of competitive League of Legends both here and all around the world where a team has a competitive patch or two before it all comes crumbling down.
I really hope it isn’t true, as having more true playoffs contenders makes for a more interesting and competitive league.
Taylor’s Week 4 Day 1 Predictions
PEACE def. Kanga
Chiefs def. Dire Wolves
ORDER def. Mammoth
Pentanet.gg def. Gravitas
LCO 2022 Split 1’s first Super Week kicks off today with PEACE vs Kanga at 6pm AEDT. Catch up on all the split details in our ultimate coverage hub.
